The Sheriff thought he could keep secrets from the people of Nottingham and the men of Sherwood but he forgot that all walls can listen. A message from a maid to a brother to a woodcutter and soon to Sherwood that spoke of when John was to be hung and the extra guards that had been brought in. It left little time for planning and Will saw no doors but perhaps this fight was meant for the men of Sherwood as his rescue had been.

They gathered what men they could that would risk their lives for a man of Sherwood and as always were amazed at how Nottingham rose up around them to provide weapons and information.

Too soon the time drew near and as the church bells chimed in the deep of the night, they made their way to Nottingham. The extra guards on the walls were silenced with fists and those who cried out to die soon found their wishes met. Then they waited for the dawn with the gallows rising from the market square promising death for any who stood upon it. As the light seeped through the low hanging clouds that spoke of a storm soon to come, all of Nottingham stood in the square and by their doors.

Little John was led out struggling each step of the way and if he knew who waited for him in the grey light, he gave no sign. It took four men to get him upon the scaffold and he looked at the Sheriff and said, “Ye may hang me for bein’ Robin’s man but he willna fall.”

Then he stood before the noose as an arrow flew to strike the beam above his head and the men of Sherwood emerged from shadows and cloaks. Will dealt quickly with the men on the stairs and cut John free so they stood to fight all before them. The Sheriff cried for his soldiers and there was bloody fighting as the people of Nottingham aided as they could, but it was a hard battle and the gates clanged down with Sherwood holding her men safe. Lightning darted across the sky and rain began to fall that would wash away the blood but not what brought it and kept it there. Nottingham’s scars were deep and new ones had been created, but for this day there was a measure of hope as Little John was once more a man of Sherwood.

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A winter storm brought rain and ice to Sherwood not long after the attack that threw Will into Milliways. They weren't able to get any news because it was impossible to go anywhere and they had to focus on keeping warm.

When things finally started to warm up, Will volunteered to go to Nottingham and see what he could find out. He'd barely been through the gates before he heard a guard laughing and saying, "Come spring, this one will hang."

"Aye, an the other will come."

They passed through the market square with Will not far behind, his heart pounding as he walked past the gallows and tried to not miss a word, "We'll need a stout rope for 'im."

"Aye, an 'e 'as to wait for the first thaw."

Will couldn't listen anymore and ducked through the door of a burned out shop to think.

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Will is always on the lookout for doors in Sherwood, but he's not surprised when they're far between. He knows in his bones that he won't lose Milliways, but he is grateful to have some time to think on all that's passed.

Some days though there's an ache, he wonders how Guppy's children are looking, what new troubles Atton has found and if Doc's plans have happened yet. Then he fades into the hard work of surviving and protecting and Milliways moves to his dreams and memories.

Little John hasn't stopped being angry instead he seems to have become quieter, a dark and unhappy figure. Everyone treads carefully around him, Will is the only one who will yell at him and fight him but it never does enough to truly break the tension.

Finally Tuck after being told off for how the stew tastes one time too often, "If ye wish to fight, fight our enemies. Go in disguise and break some heads."

John grumbled and chose a beggars' disguise of rags and tatters before stooping his great frame with a smile, "Now I may chatter and grumble as I wish."

The men watched him go as the snow began to fall again, he would gain news and Sherwood some peace for a time.

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Power and loyalty are complicated things, when you have men with strong wills living and fighting together, a balance has to be found. Yet sometimes that balance shifts and starts to tremble.

The Fair passed with no great excitement, though Little John spoke often to hunters to see what the Sheriff was asking for them. He brought a cloud with him to Sherwood as he muttered about how he could do better.

Sparring matches between him and Will grew more violent as they began to argue about how Robin led the men. John would grumble and finally agree that perhaps Robin knew what he was doing, but it never felt like quite enough.

Will was tired, he hadn't seen many doors to Milliways and time kept playing tricks on his Kate, he missed her and worried for her. Soon it will be tax time as John's unhappiness frays at all the men.

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They came with the snow, their cloaks hidden by it and horns rang out through Sherwood. No one had known anything was being planned, suddenly they were there and the only moments that mattered were now and that next sword.

As the snow kept falling, arrows were useless and soon blood was making the pure snow pink. Will knew he'd taken a few bad hits, his eye was swelling from where he'd been hit with a hilt and he could feel the cold in too many places.

Yet they kept fighting, because no one was going to rescue them, they had to save Nottingham. After what felt like hours but was probably not even an hour, they pushed them back to the road and farther back, the soldiers giving way at the stubborn determination of the outlaws.

No one could manage any shouts of victory since it didn't feel like much of one. Instead they worked back to the caves and bandaged what they could as the falling snow obliterated blood and those who fell.